This Strange Tale
by Ceu Praca
Summary: *Shrug* I was bored. That just about explains it. Be warned that I do not portray Slenderman as he is usually portrayed. This is just a short scene. I might expand it further into a story some other time, but for now, it's just a oneshot.


It was dark enough in the city streets that any normal girl would be terrified to go alone down the sidewalk. Luckily, I was equipped with two knives. One was a spring-assist, and the other was more of a carving knife that had a steel blade as long as the front part of my arm. Still, even with that added protection, the streets were dark and menacing, made even more intimidating by the fact that they were almost completely empty. The only human life to be seen was a gang of teenage guys who were smoking by a brick building.

_Idiots. There are already enough things in this world that can kill; why add lung cancer to the list?_ I veered left down an alley to avoid them, having noticed that two out of five of the guys were watching me. _Creeps._ It soon proved to be a terrible mistake, though, because the alley was blocked by a chain-link fence. I was about to backtrack, then I remembered the gang. _I can just climb over the fence. It's not too high; maybe twelve feet._

I had taken three steps toward the fence before I noticed it. The shadow. It looked like a man, but was over ten feet tall, and wearing a long, black trench coat. Whoever it was had pale skin and was bald, so that the dim light of the street lamp was reflected. The shadow was just standing there, in the corner where the fence and the brick wall met. A thin, bony hand was resting lightly on the fence, long fingers curled around the chain link. It seemed to be watching something.

I took a few steps, mentally hitting myself for voluntarily walking toward a dark stranger in an alleyway, and I soon stood behind him, only four feet away. "Um…sir? Are you looking for something?" Against my better judgment, I took two more steps forward, reached out, and tapped the shadow lightly on it's shoulder.

For a long moment, everything was perfectly still. I caught the subtle stiffening of the shadow, however. It had felt my touch. I was close enough that I could make out the individual stitches that held the leather trench coat together, and I could also see that the shadow's bald head was a pure, glistening white. Slowly, the long, bony fingers uncurled from the chain, and the long, skinny arm was gradually lowered to the shadow's side.

As if in slow motion, the head turned towards me. I gasped; the person had no face! It was just a white-skinned head, without eyes, nose, or ears. There were small slits on the sides of it's neck and cheeks, and it's mouth had such thin lips that it was nearly invisible. For a split second, I was frozen, staring into the shallow pits where it's eyes should have been. Then I took a step back, preparing myself to run. _It isn't real…this is just some nightmare….maybe it's a kid wearing a mask who just happens to be ten feet tall…or some dude escaped from a circus who's wearing stilts…_

Before I could actually put my plan of flight into action, the bony hand shot out and gripped my wrist tightly. There were strange, bone-like ridges in it's palm that dug into my skin, causing blood to trickle down my wrist; I took a deep breath, then the thin lips parted slightly, and I heard a low, snarling voice that was similar to a hiss.

"_Scream, and you die instantly._"

"Instantly?" I echoed, my voice trembling. "So, you're gonna kill me whether I scream or not?" I honestly had no interest in talking with this thing; I was just buying time as my free hand inched toward my belt. My fingers brushed the steel handle of my spring-assist, and I whipped it out and stabbed the shadow, the blade sinking into it's left shoulder, about where its heart should be.

Immediately, the hand tightened on my wrist, and I yelped as the shadow forced me to my knees, its slits widening and closing rapidly, as though it was breathing heavily. Then the strangest thing happened: my knife was somehow pushed out, clattering to the ground as the hole sealed without a trace. In the next instant, there was a horrible pulling sensation, then the shadow was gone. But so was the city. I was in the middle of a forest.

I quickly reached for my other blade, only to find that it was now missing. Somehow, I was now wearing a black bodysuit, and hanging from a single clip on a leather belt…was a flashlight. I unhooked it and inspected it closely, surprised that I wasn't already freaking out, considering what had just happened. It was just a simple, black flashlight, the kind that a security officer would carry, but there was a white piece of paper taped to the handle. I carefully peeled it off, unfolding it.

_My forest. My rules. You run. I chase. No escape._

_What the heck? Who was that guy? Running away from him sounds like a good idea, but it's a little late fore that._ I flicked on the flashlight and took a cautious step forward. Almost as if the forest itself was taunting me, dry leaves crunched loudly under my feet. _Great. If it doesn't have eyes or a nose, that thing probably hunts by sound._ It occurred to me that I was in a gigantic arena when I walked the perimeter of the forest and found that it was completely enclosed in a chain link fence.

I took a few steps back, then charged forward, intent on vaulting over the fence, which was only five feet tall. Something snagged the collar of my bodysuit, yanking me backwards, and my feet flew into the air momentarily as I was jerked roughly against a tall, solid figure.

"_I said no escape._"

"Let go of me!" I yelled, wriggling violently, but no matter how much I struggled, it was impossible to break it's grip.

"_We try this one more time. My forest. My rules. You run. I chase. No escape._"

"Why are you doing this?" I screamed furiously.

"_One more chance. You run. I chase._"

I finally halted my struggles, twisting as best as I could to look at the shadow. "And what happens if you catch me?"

"_The game ends._"

"Is there any way I could get out of this alive?"

The hands released me, and I felt the presence withdraw. "_One last chance…_"

I turned quickly, but the tall, slender shadow was gone. I sighed deeply, my hands shaking as I picked up the flashlight from where I'd dropped it when the thing had grabbed me. _So, I have to run around this arena all night, and he'll chase me. If I'm not allowed to escape, that means he's going to kill me. I don't know how I'll do this, but one way or another, I have to outsmart that thing._

I scanned the trees one more time, then sidestepped toward the fence. Almost as though the shadow was scolding me, I heard a crackling sound, like TV static; I quickly took a few steps away from the fence, and the crackling faded. _What is that thing, anyway?_


End file.
